Hypolite scores 25 to help Rice dominate Tulane

Posted: January 12, 2012 -- 10:58 p.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- The Rice Owls (8-8 overall, 2-1 in Conference USA) played their best game of the season and dominated the Tulane Green Wave 67-49 Thursday night inside Tudor Fieldhouse.

"I mean there's no question it's our best game of the year," Owls head coach Greg Williams said after the game. "We beat a very quality basketball team tonight. They (Tulsa) only had three losses and had a great win against LSU. They were the highest RPI ranked (34th as January 9) team in our league by a big margin."

Owls senior wing Brianna Hypolite was sensational throughout the ball game. Hypolite scored a game-high 25 points on 10 for 14 field goal shooting (3 for 3 on threes).

"I'm very proud of Brianna," said Coach Williams. "She's been going through a lot."

Hypolite said, "I knew it was important for me to be focused for this game. It was a big game for us. I've kind of been distracted lately the past week or so; so, I just wanted to make sure I came in focused and ready to play and my put team in the best situation I could."

Neither team shot the ball well the first eight minutes of the game as each club made only three of 11 field goal attempts. Hypolite scored the Owls first eight points of the game and the Owls led 8-6 at the 11:42 mark of the game.

Tulane (12-4, 1-2) center Brett Benzio converted a three-point play and gave the Green Wave an 11-10 lead. Benzio had nine of Tulane's 11 points.

Olivia Grayson sank a jumper for a 13-12 Green Wave lead; but, Owls freshman Megan Shafer scored five straight points to start a 22-6 run by the Owls. Candace Ashford capped off the run with a basket right before the halftime buzzer.

The Owls led the Green Wave 34-19 at the half. The Green Wave shot 32 percent (8 for 25) in the opening half; but, the Owls' defense tightened the defensive screws and limited the Green Wave to 22.9 percent (8 for 35) shooting in the second half.

"I thought defensively we were really good," Coach Williams added. "Our defense has been pretty consistent; but, tonight the shots started falling."

The Owls led by as much as 22 points (47 to 25) in the second half; but, a scoring drought allowed Tulane to get as close as 53-41 before Hypolite sank a 3 to stem the tide and restore order for the Owls.

After the game, Hypolite stated she didn't notice how many points she scored. She said she knew "she was doing well".

"I felt like I was making a lot of good decisions this game; so, I felt like was having a pretty good game," Hypolite acknowledged. "But, I felt like everyone was having a good game."

Jessica Kuster added 15 points and six rebounds for the Owls while D'Frantz Smart contributed seven assists, six rebounds, and five steals.

The Owls hit the road and play Tulsa Sunday afternoon. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.